INSTITUTE FOR OPEN LEARNING CONFERS NEARLY ONE THOUSAND NQF-ACCREDITED QUALIFICATIONS - Namibia Economist

The Institute for Open Learning (IOL) produced nearly one thousand graduates this year, making it the most prolific private institute of higher learning. The graduandi celebrated their success on Thursday 24 November when more than 280 students attended the graduation ceremony in person at a posh hotel in Windhoek. The ceremony was also live-streamed on the institute’s social media channels.

https://economist.com.na/75435/education/institute-for-open-learning-confers-nearly-one-thousand-nqf-accredited-qualifications/

Open Education can achieve equity - Iza Grek, Mail & Guardian

“Imagine a world in which human knowledge is shared more equitably, unhindered by barriers of cost, time or national borders. “Just think what could be achieved by marshalling the latest ground-breaking research and offering research-led, challenge-focused education at scale, as part of a global effort to meet – and solve – the biggest challenges facing our planet

“This change is desperately needed and long overdue. Now is the time for action, not just words.”

https://mg.co.za/opinion/2022-11-23-open-education-can-achieve-equity/

Institutional Grant Opportunities - Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board

THECB established partnerships with three higher education institutions: OpenStax at Rice University, Dallas College, and the Charles A. Dana Center at The University of Texas at Austin to provide technical assistance to OER Course Development and Implementation applicants and awardees. The technical assistance partner institutions provided help and guidance to applicants and awardees in redesigning Texas Core Curriculum courses, co-requisite remediation for Texas Core Curriculum Courses, and/or courses from the Workforce Education Course Manual (WECM) course inventory.

https://www.highered.texas.gov/our-work/supporting-our-institutions/institutional-grant-opportunities/open-educational-resources-course-development-and-implementation-grant-program/

Board of Visitors summary of actions and discussions - James Madison University

An admissions application update was provided for the 2023 freshman class with the following first-year demographics: early applicants at 24,156 (30% increase); 12,195 in state (25% increase); 11,573 out of state (32% increase); 62.2% female; 38.8% male; 17% first generation (56% increase); and 28% underrepresented minorities (42% increase); “This is JMU” an updated video used for enrollment marketing was shown;  JMU representatives participated in panels at the APLU annual conference; Dietra Trent, U.S. Department of Education, and Sean Hearne, Southeastern Universities Research Association were recently hosted on campus to advance collaborative research and inclusive excellence efforts;

Libraries has a new department to support faculty in identifying, using and creating open educational resources (OER).

https://www.jmu.edu/news/2022/11/18-bov-summary.shtml

Textbook problems, textbook solutions - Chance Bond, North Idaho Sentinal

Within the past year, the Idaho Department of Education has pushed hard for the adoption of “Project Z”.  Project Z’s goal is zero cost textbooks.  That is what the “Z” in the project stands for – Zero Cost.  During the “building Idaho’s future” initiative, the Idaho state legislature and Governor Brad Little invested over $1,000,000 into the project. “It really works well at the community college level because Idaho has common courses for General Education, making it easier to share curriculum resources across these courses,” Dr. TJ Bliss (State Board of Education’s Chief Academic Officer) said.  “Idaho faculty have developed a new textbook for first year writing courses, for example, that is open licensed (meaning other faculty can adopt and adapt it for their courses) and freely available to students online through the Idaho Open Press.”

https://nicsentinel.com/2022/11/textbook-problems-textbook-solutions/

CULLS Faculty Learning Circle Launching Spring 2023 - Marya Jones, UNM

Jennifer Schaller, OER Librarian, University Libraries and Jennifer Pollard, assistant director of Teaching Support, Center for Teaching and Learning will guide participants through an in-depth exploration into Open Educational Resources (OER). In seven sessions, faculty will develop their own OER curriculum, learn to navigate Creative Commons licenses for the materials they create, and share their work, in either the UNM Digital Repository’s OER Collection or on another open platform. Whether instructors are brand new to the world of OER, or they are ready to put their OER knowledge to greater use, this hands-on, low-stress workshop will be beneficial.

http://news.unm.edu/news/culls-faculty-learning-circle-launching-spring-2023

E-textbooks a growing part of university education – with mixed benefits - Bill Macfarlane, NEWS CALGARY

The merits of digital versus paper are one thing, but the cost to students is increasingly on the minds of professors. Some are now developing their own open educational resources (OERs) to ease the financial burden. Tenured philosophy professor Richard Zach says his intro course has 500 students a year. His previous textbook cost about $100. "I just thought it was unconscionable to continue to do that when there are perfectly suitable alternatives that are free for students – and that I can change as I see fit," Zach said.

https://www.iheartradio.ca/ctv-news-content/e-textbooks-a-growing-part-of-university-education-with-mixed-benefits-1.18795540

Open Educational Resources for Collaborative Online & Distance Education and eXchange - Erasmus+ funded project

OUR mission is to develop OER course modules conveying digital teaching and learning methods including online collaborative learning in a blended learning context for educators in Higher Education. OER-CODEX builds on connectivism as an appropriate learning method for the digital age that emphasizes social interaction as a key element of the learning process and output of the results. 

https://oer-codex.fh-krems.ac.at/

Boise State librarian, staff and alumni present on open education resources at conferences - Boise State News

Albertsons Library Open Educational Resources Librarian, Shannon Smith, and World Languages Resource Center Director, Amber Hoye, presented at the Open Education Conference on Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2022. Their session “In the Room Where it Happens: Exploring Student Intersections with Open Ed Beyond the Classroom,” discussed the ways students intersect with furthering the work of open education outside of the classroom.

https://www.boisestate.edu/news/2022/11/14/boise-state-librarian-staff-and-alumni-present-on-open-education-resources-at-conferences/

Enhancing Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility (IDEA) in Open Educational Resources (OER) - Australian Edition

This practical guide provides a framework and tips to enhance inclusion, diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility in Open Educational Resources. Nikki Andersen is the Open Education Content Librarian at the University of Southern Queensland (UniSQ). In this role she supports open educational practices, including the development of open textbooks using the open publishing platform, Pressbooks.

https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/enhancing-inclusion-diversity-equity-and-accessibility-idea-in-open-educational-resources-oer

World History Encyclopedia - OER Commons

Overview: World History Encyclopedia is a non-profit organization publishing the world's most-read history encyclopedia. Its mission is to engage people with cultural heritage and to improve history education worldwide. The website offers thousands of free history articles, with a writing style aimed at students from middle school level and up. Articles are complemented by videos, timelines, 3D models, and interactive maps. The search function offers many filters, including the possibiliy to search for primary source texts. Additionally, the organization published free teaching materials in its education section.

https://www.oercommons.org/courses/world-history-encyclopedia

How to Use the Dall-E AI Art Generator to Create Stunning Images From Text - Eric Griffith, PC Mag

Dall-E is at the forefront of artificial intelligence art creation, which anyone can use. AI art generators have been in the news a lot this year, be it for their amazing advances or questionable uses. OpenAI’s Dall-E 2 is one of the major names in this space. It's now open to the public and developers, and soon it’ll be built into Microsoft software and the Bing search engine. But how, exactly, do you work with Dall-E? Is it really as simple as typing in a description—called a prompt—and getting back a picture? To be honest, yes. But there’s a lot more to be aware of if you want to get anywhere close to the perfect result.

https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/how-to-use-dall-e-ai-art-generator

LSU Shreveport’s Noel Memorial Library Named Library of the Year - Bossier Post-Tribune

Last year, three LSUS Library faculty participated in the LOUIS/Department of Education Interactive Open Educational Resources for Dual Enrollment program to develop cost free textbooks for general education courses in the state. Continuing in that effort, Library faculty have also agreed to serve on a similar initiative in 2022, Connecting the Pipeline: Libraries, OER, and Dual Enrollment from Secondary to Postsecondary, a $1.3 million project funded by LOUIS and the Institute of Library and Museum Services. The project will develop and share a model for connecting open educational resources (OER) initiatives between secondary postsecondary institutions within a library context.

https://bossierpress.com/lsu-shreveports-noel-memorial-library-named-library-of-the-year/ 

Tarleton awarded GEER grant for open educational resources - Your Stephensville TX

Tarleton State University has been awarded a $36,943 planning grant from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund to support student success.

https://www.yourstephenvilletx.com/2022/11/02/tarleton-awarded-geer-grant-for-open-educational-resources/

Just Released: “SPARC Europe Open Education in European Libraries of Higher Education Survey 2022” - Gary Price, InfoDocket

We are pleased to announce the publication of our report, Open Education in European Libraries of Higher Education: Implementing the UNESCO Recommendation on OER. The report presents the findings of the third edition of our annual survey of European academic libraries on the topic of Open Education (OE) and Open Educational Resources (OER). It explores the work being done by European academic librarians to implement the UNESCO OER Recommendation, almost three years on from its initial publication in November 2019.

https://www.infodocket.com/2022/10/31/just-released-by-sparc-europe-new-insights-into-oe-open-education-in-european-libraries-of-higher-education-2022/

Student-librarian partnership promotes open educational resources - Boise State News

Graf Kirk is a lot of things to Boise State University. He is a recent graduate who holds a degree in biology. He is a former vice president of academic affairs of the Associated Students of Boise State University. He is currently applying to medical school.  Shannon Smith is the open educational resources, or OER, librarian at Albertsons Library where she advocates for open education. Smith works with campus partners to implement OER and open education practices to benefit Boise State students.  Kirk and Smith may not have crossed paths if it weren’t for Boise State’s spirit of innovation.

https://www.boisestate.edu/news/2022/10/31/student-librarian-partnership-promotes-open-educational-resources/

Opinion | Waubonsee Voices: It starts with access - Christine J. Sobek, President Waubonsee College - in Shaw Local

We also recognize other costs, such as the cost of books and other course materials. Books and course materials may be charged to student accounts and paid off as part of payment plans or from scholarships and grants. In addition, many courses offer books and course materials through our Inclusive Access program or Open Educational Resources (OER). When students register for an Inclusive Access or OER class, digital access to the lowest cost or no cost course materials is provided automatically.

https://www.shawlocal.com/kendall-county-now/opinion/columns/2022/10/30/waubonsee-voices-it-starts-with-access/

Open Educational REsources for Adult Learners - UNCESCO & BILT

The Korea Open Courseware (KOCW) is the largest platform for open educational resources (OER) in the Republic of Korea. It was set up to assist individuals wishing to access higher education learning resources by providing materials from over 224 universities and institutions from across the Republic of Korea and abroad. Although the KOCW platform provides a wide spectrum of higher education resources, the Korean Ministry of Education and KERIS identified a lack of relevant resources in technical and vocational education and training (TVET). They subsequently worked with both employers and employees to map out areas for digital and technical skills training.

https://unevoc.unesco.org/bilt/Promising+Practices+in+TVET/lang=en/id=6475

Trends in student spending on course materials and ways to combat the high cost of physical textbooks - Jordanna Garland, UD Review

Student spending on course materials over the past decade has declined to its lowest point. Inclusive access and Open Educational Resources (OERs) are some factors that have made substantial contributions to this downward trend. Student Monitor, a research organization focused on studying the patterns of student spending, reported in a 2022 study that students spent an average of $314 on course materials in the 2021-2022 school year. In contrast, during the 2011-2012 school year, the organization reported students spending an average of $557 on their course materials. 

https://udreview.com/trends-in-student-spending-on-course-materials-and-ways-to-combat-the-high-cost-of-physical-textbooks/

OpenStax announces 10 schools participating in this year’s Institutional Partner Program - Rice University

OpenStax, Rice University’s educational technology initiative, will see 10 colleges and universities join its Institutional Partner Program for the 2022-2023 school year. All of those institutions will receive support from OpenStax experts as they work to save students’ money by increasing the use of free, openly licensed textbooks on their campuses.  The University of Notre Dame, Georgia State University, Collin College (Texas), Glendale Community College (California), Maricopa Community College (Arizona), Merced Community College (California), Mt. San Antonio College (California), the University of Michigan and the University of Texas at El Paso are the newest members of the program. They join the College of Southern Nevada, which is returning for a second year.

https://news.rice.edu/news/2022/openstax-announces-10-schools-participating-years-institutional-partner-program

Washburn University launches new courses to avoid cost of textbooks - Sarah Motter, WIBW

Washburn University has launched new courses that avoid textbooks, offsetting their financial cost, which will save students around $400,000 this semester. Washburn University announced on Thursday, Oct. 27, that it has established a Zero Textbook Cost course marking initiative. It said students in a ZTC course are not required to buy primary materials such as textbooks. It said these courses are marked in its course schedule with a special icon to make them easily recognizable to students.

https://www.wibw.com/2022/10/27/washburn-university-launches-new-courses-avoid-cost-textbooks/